Forgotten
by outerelf
Summary: It wasn't supposed to turn out like this, to be blocked out of the bond by his own triplets.
1. Chapter 1

_After all we've been through, how could you two forget me? How could you two just simply walk away, and leave me behind? How could you close me out of our bond, and pretend like I never existed? Why?_

The picture in his hands shook, as his head fell forward slightly. Around the walls of his room pictures decorated the walls. Each had a common theme of three mechs in various poses. In every single one of them, the three were always together.

_Why have you two forgotten about me? What did I do wrong? Why do you hate me?_

A despairing sob echoed in the small room, as the mech curled up in a small ball on the recharge berth, optics dimming in pain and sorrow. "Why?" The soft, sobbing word was spoken to the empty air and nothing else.

His hand rose up to touch his chassis, as once again his bond attempted to break down the wall. He had felt the two erect a wall between each other whenever they were particularly furious at each other, but this was the first time they had blocked him out. And they had been blocking him out for an amazingly long time.

It was as if he had never existed. It was as if he was nothing. Just nothing. His spark twisted painfully at the reminder, and again it threw itself at the wall erected between him and happiness. The wall remained, a silent testament to the fact that they didn't want him anymore.

They didn't want him, their own triplet.

"_C'mon you two! That's enough, no need to fight." The brilliantly orange mech stared at the two with pleading optics as they wrestled for the upper hand. "Sides, Sunny, c'mon, dad and daddy are gonna blow a fuse when they find out you two are fighting again."_

_Sideswipe looked up as Sunstreaker snarled, "Then make him give back my art pad!"_

"_Sideswipe-" The orange mech said chillingly, "Give Sunny back his pad."_

"_Only if he apologizes!"_

_The orange mech looked to both of his triplets, before shaking his head and sitting down next to the two struggling forms. "What happened this time?" He asked, voice exasperated, bond quivering with the emotional feedback of the fact he was actually listening. _

His head fell against the cool, hard unforgiving metal as he stared at nothing. His CPU instantly traveled back to the battle where this had all began-

_Sideswipe slammed a fist into the nearest Decepticon face, and vaulted over the stunned mech, optics searching desperately for any sign of his triplets. He could feel rage over Sunstreaker, but there was fear, terror, and pain whizzing across the bond from his triplet._

_The orange mech threw a punch at the Decepticons face, still not quiet believing that this was actually happening to him. He wasn't a fighter- he had always played peacemaker to his triplets. _

_Two echoing rages lashed from his triplets' side of the bond, as they dished out heavy damage from their side of the battlefield. He viewed the distance between the three of them, before determinedly wading in to reach them. _

_His bond reached out to them, concentrating hard enough to make himself known over their own emotions. Sharp pain blossomed in his back, and he fell with a scream of pain. Horrification lashed across the bond before all went dark…_

The mech curled up a little more, optics dimming in the pain that memory brought up. After that battle, he had been found and reformatted into the body he was currently in. A little shorter, a bit of a different design- but that didn't really make any difference. There was still the triplet bond that could never be broken.

Not broken, but he was learning that he could be shut out.

One hand gripped the side of the berth as a painful sob wracked the body.

Just because he had been reformatted, changed on the outside shouldn't mean they hate him! What had he done now? He knew they had always considered him weak, and there were times they had wondered if they really were triplets- somehow he had always ended up being peace-maker to their constant bickering and fighting.

He sniffled a little as his CPU latched onto that idea. Maybe it was because he was too weak. Were they keeping him out because he was too weak?

"_Oy, you! You better stop picking on him." The three mechs looked up from the miserable looking orange mech, shuffling awkwardly as he looked down at the ground._

"_Why should we? He was practically asking for it, what with his telling us we were breaking the rules." The tallest of the three snarled._

"_Because, his triplets are coming right at this moment with the express intent of tearing you apart for making their triplet sad," was the calm reply back, "If I were you, I'd run."_

"_Phah! If this little weakling here is any indication of what those two are like, then they'll soon be joining their triplet-"_

_A low growl of anger broke the mech off mid-sentence, as he turned, optics widening in surprise. The golden Lamborghini stalked closer to the mech, optics furiously burning. "What do you think you're doing to Swiftstrike?"_

"_You're his triplet?" The horrified faceplate stared up at the mech, as all energon seemed to drain from his face._

"_Correct. Swiftstrike, was this mech picking on you? I'm more then willing to kill him if he was."_

"_No Sunny." Swiftstrike quickly corrected. "We were merely discussing-"_

"_He was picking on you." The three mechs originally picking on Swiftstrike whirled, staring at the red Lamborghini in horrified consternation. "Sunny, I think I'm willing to put off our earlier argument if you'll help me offline these brats-"_

"_SIDES! SUNNY! STOP!" Swiftstrike practically screamed at them, attempting to keep the two from killing the three mechs that had originally been picking on him. _

"_Really Strike, you're too soft."_

"_You shouldn't fight. Besides which, what if someone sees you-" Swiftstrike trailed off as his optics spotted the security forces. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both stopped, dismay clearly written across their faces. _

_Swiftstrike calmly placed himself in front of his triplets, as the security guard stopped before them. "What's going on here?" He growled. Swiftstrike simply shrugged. _

"_I'm not certain sir. We heard screaming from over here, and when we came to look-"_

_Sideswipe nodded as Sunstreaker simply continued glowering directly at the security gurad. The guard ignored it as he turned to Swiftstrike. "You're not lying to protect your triplets, are you?"_

"_Since when do I lie about such a thing?" Swiftstrike demanded, staring the guard directly in the optic. "For once in their life-time, those two didn't start the fight."_

"_Yeah, why would we want to beat up these guys for?" Sideswipe laughed, giving one of the mechs a sly kick. The mech groaned, and the guard sighed. _

"_Fine, I'll let you three off this time, but don't think I believe you for an astrosecond."_

The bittersweet memory drifted through his CPU, further cementing the idea that they had cast him aside as too weak. They had always had to come rescue him. Oftentimes, while they hadn't said anything about it, he could've sworn there was some small amount of derision in their CPU's about the entire rescue business.

Weak. He was too weak to be with them. He had been watching them closely; both of them had gotten more violent over the time they had started ignoring him and his attempts at creating peace. The fights they started picking were closer together, went longer, and it seemed like times they were actually trying to kill someone rather then beat them up.

The picture in his hands trembled, and hurriedly he released it, not wanting to damage the picture. There were so few of them- he had always thought the three of them would be together forever. Weren't they part of the same spark? Weren't they part of _him_?

Just like he was part of them. It shouldn't of turned out like this, this terrible feeling of being outcast, not belonging and forced out into the darkness. He needed them- to be able to snuggle up and listen to their spark beats, to laugh and joke with them, to be able to feel the emotions as they came.

Not this horrid blankness across the bond, his spark ready, open and begging to receive even a scrap of feeling, but their feelings completely blocked off from him as he was blocked from them.

The picture fell out of the limp hand, slowly drifting down to the floor. He allowed it to go, wondering if there was any chance of making it up to the two. If he had any chance at all to be brought back to his triplets sparks.

Obviously not, if they had blocked him out of the bond, the number one reason why he hadn't said anything to them. He had multiple chances to reveal that he was actually Swiftstrike, but he hadn't. Instead he waited quietly for them to open the bond and contact him instead. Obviously he had done something wrong, but he couldn't correct it if they wouldn't tell him what he had done wrong. They hadn't contacted him however. They still weren't, and he could feel the last few pieces of denial slipping from his fingers.

If they hadn't contacted him by now, then they didn't want him. Period. His head tilted back to stare at the various pictures decorating the wall. If Decepticons found the pictures, then they would try to use it against all three of them. Moreover, knowing the two, eventually they would break into his room, and see the pictures. They would then mercilessly tease him about it.

Slowly he stood, and began taking the pictures off one by one. As each was taken off, he began building his own wall to the emptiness in his spark. If they didn't want him, then he would close off his spark to them. As he built the wall, he hesitated, before leaving it incomplete. If they truly wished to get to him, then they could break through.

He bent to pick the last picture from off the ground, and looked at the door. The safest bet to destroy the pictures would be to throw them in the incinerator. The entire base was quiet at this moment, so the chances of him running into anyone were minute-

He started to the door, before pausing to look at the mirror. A tear streaked face stared back at him, and he set down the pictures to scrub at the marks. They were slowly scrubbed away until only the faintest trace remained.

With a sigh, he picked up the pictures again, and walked out the door. The cool, brightly lit hallways stretched before him. Silently he walked past the various doors, optics darting from side to side to stare at them slightly suspiciously, praying that no one would bother coming out to see whom was walking through the hallways.

The sound of a door beginning to open made him jump, and quickly patter around a corner. Voices rose up into the hallway as the two fighting mechs began screaming at each other. The mech ignored the fighting despite his wish that he could go back and smooth it over, and hurriedly began walking to the incinerator.

As he walked, he didn't notice the picture on top slowly fall off before gently drifting down to the ground. It fluttered into a corner, and firmly wedged itself there, unnoticed and unseen.

It was simply waiting.

* * *

a/n: picture that goes along with this: http://Shioji-san(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/11-Memory-121504621 most of the credit goes to them for inspiring me.


	2. Chapter 2

_How did this happen? How could it happen? What did we do wrong this time, that we're alive and he's not? He didn't even want to come into this war. It's not fair. It's just not fair._

A red hand hesitantly touched his shoulder, as the mech slid in next to him. The golden warrior flipped onto his side, staring up at his twin. One hand fluttered up to touch the side of the face, before he stopped, hand clenching into a helpless fist.

"This is so stupid." He whispered instead. "Why him?"

A flinch from the red mech, as optics darted away from his. They snuggled close together, CPU's pulled back to where it all began-

_Sideswipe punched the Decepticons face, optics searching desperately for his triplets. He could see Sunstreaker tearing apart a few of the 'Cons, but where was Swiftstrike?_

_Sideswipe tossed a 'Con over his shoulder, before locating a flash of orange across the battlefield. Through the bond, he could feel Swiftstrike reaching out to them, bond trying to override Sunstreakers furious anger. The quiet, loving emotions that always accompanied their triplet was remarkably dimmed, replaced by fear, pain-_

_Sideswipe reached out at the same time he felt Sunstreaker dim his own rage to allow their triplet to reach out to them. Pain slammed into both of them instead, threatening to drown them both. Horrification filled the twins, before the bond went completely blank._

Blank. It was a horrid thing, to no longer feel ones triplet. The empty, missing hole right where you once received all calm, quiet… The yellow warrior flinched away from the thought, as the red warrior brought up a leg to place his head on the knee. "Maybe because we kept on protecting him?"

"You mean from everyone that tried to beat him up and picked on him?" The Golden mech struggled up into a sitting position. His optics were icy blue as they stared at his twin. "If we didn't protect him, he would've been offline long ago! You know he's not a fighter!"

A lump rose in the others throat as he slowly nodded. "I know."

_A smooth line flowed out onto the pad, as the hand that followed it calmly watched as the pictures on the pad slowly took shape. Blue optics lit up in the hope that he actually might get the picture done without any interruptions._

_**Shame, ager, embarrassment**__ Sunstreakers head came up, wary as a turbo-wolf, at the emotions coming across the bond before his optics narrowed. It wasn't coming from Sideswipes part of the bond. If it had been, he probably would've ignored it._

_As it was, it was coming from Swiftstrike. And if such emotions were coming from Swiftstrike, then that meant someone was picking on him. If someone was picking on him, then it was his automatic duty to beat them up._

_Out of all three, only one had inherited any squeamishness about fighting, and the wish to obey rules. Sometimes Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both felt a little exasperated at his triplets insistence of obeying the rules, but then again… Swiftstrike had always been the one to get a little energon treat whenever they went to the doctors._

_Sunstreaker stalked down the hallways with the intent of thoroughly beating up whomever was picking on his triplet __**this**__ time. Afterwards he'd take his triplet back to his room, sit him down, and allow him to relax in their shared room where nobody dared enter without express permission first, and escorted by one of the three._

_He stalked out of the shadows in time to see his orange triplet shuffle awkwardly, wincing at the various insults no doubt concocted in advance. Anger flared through him, no doubt echoing in his optics, at the shame his triplet was unconsciously sending out. "__What do you think you're doing to Swiftstrike?"_

The golden warrior snorted at that memory, even as his spark ached to return to those simpler days. They would take care of the ever picked on Swiftstrike, and Swiftstrike took care of them in return, using his knowledge of the rules to slide the two through whatever loopholes he could.

_The Security guard snorted. "Fine, I'll let you three off this time, but don't think I believe you for an astrosecond."_

_Swiftstrike nodded, but smiled hopefully at the security guard. "Hey, can I do watch you do your rounds? I've always been interested in becoming a security mech."_

_As Swiftstrike managed to charm the security guard away through his eager expression to learn, Sideswipe turned frozen cold optics back to the crumpled mechs. Derision at the idiots who'd actually pick a fight with his triplet and expect to get away with it filled him, and he crouched down next to the beaten up idiots._

"_Now look here, I like to think I'm fair, but when you pick on my triplet, you're going too far." Sideswipes smile remained firmly in place. "You don't say a single word about this to anyone, and stay away from our triplet, and I won't be forced to sneak into your berth room one night and horribly offline you."_

"_Sideswipe, I get first dibs."_

"_Too late Sunny, I already claimed killing them first. Besides, they ought to feel lucky that it was Swiftstrike they were picking on, and not one of us. Otherwise Swiftstrike wouldn't of bothered sticking up for them."_

"_Probably because he never would've known until I finished beating them up."_

A sigh shook the red mech, as he leaned in close to his remaining triplet, head tilted backwards to stare at the blank, empty walls. Swiftstrike had all of the pictures, being sentimental like that.

The only picture they had been of their creators holding the three sparklings, grinning proudly. The small orange sparkling stared at the picture taker with wide, innocent optics as the red sparkling was looking off to the side, small face bored. The yellow sparkling looked right into the camera, a small smirk on the face.

So it was, it captured all three perfectly. They would've gladly given up the picture if it meant getting back their triplet however. They would've gladly given up _anything_ at this point to get back the calming influence of their triplet.

"Hey, you know Red? Doesn't… Doesn't he remind you of…"

"One more word, and I'll tear out your vocalizer." The low, angry growl showed clearly how the golden warrior felt about the third Lamborghini in the Arks crew. He thought the exact same as his twin, and it hurt.

Hurt that someone should have nearly the same personality as Swiftstrike, and be alive, not to mention nearly rubbing it in their faces by trying to break up the fights. Often they kept the fights going on longer just to spite him.

A knock sounded at the door, and both looked up. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, you two are on patrol."

"Aww, alright. C'mon Sunny, let's go."

"I thought I told you not to call me Sunny!" Sunstreaker snarled, even as he allowed the door to slide open to stride out into the hallway.

Sideswipe, about to continue joking on, paused as a flutter of a piece of paper caught his optics. He turned around to see a photo, face down, lying firmly wedged in a corner. One optic ridge rose s he approached it, picking it up. He was about to flip it over, before Sunstreaker snarled, "C'mon Sideswipe, let's go!"

With a shrug, Sideswipe placed the picture into his subspace, and followed after his twin down the cold hallways and into the brilliant outside.

The rocky desert stretched for miles around the mountain, broken only by large piles of rock formations, scattered about without any rhyme or reason. Sideswipe transformed, "Catch me if you can Sunny!"

Sunstreaker growled as he transformed, taking off after his twin. Neither heard the sound of jets taking off from the mountain behind them, nor did they hear the quiet snickers from the purple jet.

The other jet grumbled, "I don't get why we're doing this."

"Because I'm sick and tired of getting Jet Judo, and think of how pleased Megatron will be when we tell him that those two are dead."

The jet considered it for a moment, before grumbling, "Alright, alright. I give in. We'll get them."

"Good, let's go now-"

"Skywarp! Not now! We're still within range of the Ark! Wait until they get far enough away that the Arks crew won't be able to get here in time."

Skywarp engines whined petulantly as he stared down at the two Lamborghini's. "But they're right _there_."

"Warp-" The other jet said warningly, when Sideswipe stopped below.

---

Sideswipe was being eaten alive from curiosity at what the picture might be. It looked so familiar somehow, like as if it was actually something of his and Sunny's. "What now Sideswipe?" Sunstreaker growled impatiently.

"Aww, just saw a photo lying around. Wanted to see what it was." Sideswipe casually took the photo out of subspace, listening to his twin transform behind him to look over his shoulder.

Sideswipe grinned at his twin, before flipping the photo over- and that was when everything went to the pits.

A blast came out of nowhere, slamming into Sideswipes side, as Sunstreaker cried out in agony as something dropped onto his back. Both twins rolled onto the ground, as Sunstreaker managed to grab onto a wing, nearly ripping off a few pieces of plating.

The photo fluttered to the ground, and Sunstreaker saw a flash or orange, yellow, and red from it- With a low growl of rage, he threw off Thundercracker, even as he mentally reached out to Sideswipe.

Pain. Horrid pain, crashing, twisting, turning, wrenching- Sunstreaker gasped in the pain that slid through the bond, before staggering over to Sideswipe. A large black hole cleanly showed where he had been shot, energon pouring out of the wound.

Sunstreaker glanced around, optics searching for the two jets, even as his ears thrummed with the sound of engines. There was the sound of crackling air, before a grinning, leering face popped into view.

With a thundering roar, Sunstreaker threw himself at the Seeker, and sent both crashing to the ground. Behind him he felt, more then heard, Thundercracker pick himself off the ground to fire at him.

Pain blossomed in his back, as he went face down on top of the Seeker. Skywarp laughed, and through a dark mist he saw a hand reaching for him, before it abruptly withdrew.

Screams and shouts from the two seekers rose up into the air as they both took off, and Sunstreaker groaned softly as Ratchets voice fell onto his auditory receptors, "Slagit! First Aid! Wheeljack! Quick, we're going have to stabilize them here-"

Tired. He was so very, very tired… _**open the bond, please, open the bond **_the words and sense of pleading across the bond caught golden warrior by surprise, and he half attempted to sit up. Immediately hands shoved him down again.

**_Please, please, let me in, let me in-_** The sense of begging again came softly, and Sunstreaker was distantly aware that Sideswipe was stirring as well. A frown creased his face as he attempted to place where the words and feelings were coming from.

A gust of wind picked up, and Sunstreaker watched as the photo Sideswipe had been holding fluttered out of the mechs grasp. It was so badly blasted, Sunstreaker couldn't even tell what was on it- "Erm, Ratchet, Sideswipes spark is fading-" Sunstreaker forgot about the photo, and lunged for his twin.

The lunge was unexpectedly pulled up short as Ratchet body slammed him into the ground. "Slagit Sunstreaker! Hold still! Your spark is fluctuating like crazy, and Sideswipe is even worse!"

Instantly his optics turned to his unconscious triplet, lying unconscious on the desert floor, energon still leaking out slowly despite Wheeljacks best efforts. "Sides-" Sunstreaker whispered, reaching out.

Ratchet growled, before his hands found what he was looking for. A painkiller slid neatly into his tubes, slowly deadening the pain. **_Please, let me in!_**

The plea came again, so soft that Sunstreaker barely felt it. It came through the damaged wall that Sunstreaker had placed around him and his twin. Sunstreaker distantly realized that Sideswipe had dropped the wall entirely, despite being unconscious.

Another wave at his wall, and Sunstreaker reluctantly broke it down, desperate to know what was on the other side... **love/happiness/warmth** the emotions that swept back to him threw him completely off balance as he felt Swiftstrikes presence slide in next to his spark.

Instantly he latched a hold of Swiftstrike, unable to believe what was going on. **_worry/hope/love_** Sunstreaker sent the emotions, and his spark nearly melted at the wave of comforting love, and eager happiness sent back.

As soon as he got back to the Ark, he was going to tackle his triplet, and the three of them were going to spend a long time grilling his triplet on why he hadn't broken through the wall…

Remorse filled Sunstreaker. Of course Swiftstrike had never broken through the wall- he had never had to do so before. All of this crap- All of this not being able to feel each other was his fault. He should have checked to make sure, he should have... Have done something more. **_Sorry_** he sent, darkness beginning to eat at the corner of his optics.

In return, he got something he never would've dared hope for. **_forgiveness/sorry/love-_**

**A moments pause, before Swiftstrike sent, as powerful as he could, _I love you. _**

Two answers, as both fell into the realm of unconsciousness, came flying back. **_We love you too._**

Ratchet watched in consternation as the twins sparks flared unexpectedly, beats picking up in an entirely erratic pattern, before slowly dropping. "Wheeljack, get ready for-"

The beats stopped falling, and slowly became less erratic. Ratchet stared at his instruments, before looking up. "Jack, are you getting the same readings as me?"

"Yep. Looks like the two's spark beats have stabilized. Better take advantage of this, quick!"

Ratchet nodded, and bent with a will to the task.

The photo, completely unnoticed, did another flip in the wind. It had been smudged, smeared, burned, and stained so badly there was only one thing left to see.

Two fingers up in a victory sign.

----------

a/n: I had forgotten to click the complete button on the last chapter. But since everyone asked so nicely, I made you all this second chapter. Hope you enjoy it as much as you 'enjoyed' the first!


	3. Chapter 3

Ratchet sighed in relief as he leaned back from the golden warriors chassis, grumbling softly over the scare he had just gotten. When Red Alert had come over his comm. link claiming that Seekers had attacked the twins, Ratchet had expected to come to save the Seekers from certain death- not the twins themselves.

With a sigh he reached one had up to the comm. link, "Red Alert, Optimus Prime, we have secured and helped Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."

Optimus Primes rumbling voice came across the comm. link, "Good. Red Alert, I expect to see you in my office in a breem to tell me how the Seekers got into our perimeter."

Silence. "Red Alert?"

Still, silence. Ratchet's unease grew. By now, Red Alert must have responded in some fashion… Prime murmured, "I'm going to go see what is the matter with Red Alert. Ratchet, return to the Ark at top speed. We might need you here again."

Ratchet turned off the comm. link, as he turned to Wheeljack. "Cmon Jack, help me load them up and we'll take them off to the medbay where we can finally finish repairing these idiots."

Wheeljacks fins flashed on either side of his head as his head tilted at Ratchet. "Hey, Ratch, what do you suppose made their sparks fluctuate like that?"

"How am I supposed to know Jack? If they had a triplet, or a bonded I'd say it was them. But they obviously don't have such a thing. So the next best thing is that they attempted to latch onto each others sparks to make sure it didn't fade."

Wheeljack made a slight noise, before he bent to pick up Sideswipe. Ratchet grunted as he transformed into his ambulance form, white paint glinting in the light. Sideswipe moaned softly as he was jolted, and Wheeljack hissed in consternation.

Ratchet sat still as Wheeljack slid the two into the medics back. The others that had come all kept a wary optic on the sky. "Ratchet, I found Red Alert… he's unconscious in his security room. He's trembling as well."

"Is he hot to the touch?"

A moment of silence as Optimus Prime touched the unconscious Lamborghini, before, "No, he's not."

"Then what could be wrong with him?" Ratchet demanded of the sky, and life in general. He received no answer, like usual, and the medic grumbled as he pulled away, the twins safely ensconced in his back. "Prime, take Red to the medbay, and give him to First Aid. Me and Wheeljack will be there in a few moments."

"Right."

Ratchet engines revved loudly as he took off in a cloud of dust. The others were quick to transform and take after him. Within a few moments, they were in sight of the Ark, until at last, Ratchet drove straight through the hallways to the medbay.

There he was met by a puzzled First Aid. "Ratchet, I can't find anything wrong with Red Alert. His spark pulse is a little slower then normal, but other then that, he's perfectly fine. No dents, nothing to show his CPU is out of whack…"

Ratchet grunted as his doors swung open. "Get Sideswipe and Sunstreaker laid out on berths. If there's nothing visibly wrong with Red Alert then I can't do anything for him. As for these two I need to get them into intense care. Spark beats will only be steady for who knows how long, and I don't want to miss ever moment of opportunity I have."

First Aid nodded as he dragged the twins out of Ratchets back. Ratchet transformed, and began to snap orders, prepping for the major piece of surgery that was about to happen.

-------

They were floating. All three of them were floating, drifting on a sea of nothingness, surrounded by nothing, and buoyed by nothing. It should have been a disturbing feeling, but instead all three felt perfectly at home with it.

Three sparks latched onto each other, comforting and 'feeding' off of each other. One spark nudged the other, and the third spark intervened, radiating waves of calm, quiet acceptance.

**Love/happiness/warmth **the three emotions darted from spark to spark, creating a rippling wave between the three as the sparks attempted to make up for the long absence from each other. Not a single one of the three was willing to give up what time they had just to the three of them-

They knew without a doubt that sooner or later they had to truly wake up out of the semi-coma they had sent themselves into. And they also knew when they woke up, they were going have to face the truth.

Swiftstrike spark slid up warmly against the other two, as they shared one of the fondest memories they could bring up-

_Sideswipe scowled mockingly at Sunstreaker as he leaned backwards in his seat. Sunstreaker ignored the mocking smile as his head craned to look out the window. Swiftstrikes head tilted from side to side as he attempted to see over his triplets shoulder._

_The two mechs grinned down at them, "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Swiftstrike, ready to go visit your grandcreators?"_

_There were three overly eager nods as three faceplates turned to their creators. The creators smiled down at their creations, before the father creator pointed out the window. "Behold, Iacon!"_

_Soft coos of amazement echoed around the transport as those whom had never seen the splendor of Iacon before crowded the windows. Swiftstrike nearly climbed up Sunstreakers back as he attempted to see out the window. Sunstreaker allowed him, though he scowled up at his triplet. Sideswipes excited jiggling of his arm interrupted his train of thought to look at the city below._

"_Would everyone please take a seat? We'll be landing soon-" The shuttles voice slowly urged mechs, femmes and younglings back to their seats, despite Sideswipes impatient bouncing. Their creators simply continued grinning like fools, as their hands intertwined._

_The shuttle landed, fifth time after Sideswipe had asked, and before the other two could even twitch, Sideswipe had shot off the shuttle and onto the ground, vaulting over the surprised customs officer head. _

"_Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker took off after his triplet, as Swiftstrike looked up at his creators. Both of them shook their heads as they sighed. _

"_Go ahead Swiftstrike. We'll sort it out with the customs officials." Swiftstrike nodded, and took off after his errant triplets. "We expect you three to be waiting outside for us though!"_

_Swiftstrike didn't say anything as he chased after his triplets. He was faster then them, so if he could just- A flash of red caught his optics. He slid to a stop, and turned around to look as Sideswipe gaped up at the towers in front of him. Sunstreaker came hurtling out of the crowd at the next moment. "Sides-"_

"_Isn't it so cool Sunny?"_

"_Sides, Sunny, Dad and daddy want us to come back to the shuttle now."_

"_Alright Swiftstrike…" Sideswipe allowed himself to be led back to the shuttle, still gaping around the beautiful city like a country bumpkin. Sunstreaker glowered at him. _

"_Stop looking like that! You're making us look suspicious." Sunstreaker grumbled._

_They spotted their creators standing nearby the shuttle, anxiously looking for them. Swiftstrike pattered up close to them, and the father smiled down. "Ready for picture taking?"_

_Sideswipe groaned, as Swiftstrike looked away. Picture taking was not the most favorite of activities for them, even as Sunstreaker preened in response to the idea of getting a picture. "C'mon you three, after this we'll go get a few energon cubes."_

_That perked up both Sideswipe and Swiftstrike as they all posed in front of a building. It's dark background was a sharp contrast to their bright colors, as laughingly they posed. _

The memory slowly faded into the background, as Swiftstrike spark pulled away slightly. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker nearly pounced on the spark, wailing protests. Swiftstrike silently sent **happy/wake up/come**

Sunstreaker sighed, **sleepy/tired/must we?**

Sideswipe reminded, **see/come/touch**

That caught the triplets attention, and he perked up slightly. Waking up would mean that they got to see what their triplet had been reformatted into- the only reason why Sunstreaker could think of the reason why they hadn't recognized him.

The red warriors optics onlined first and found himself lying on top of a berth. Beside him he could feel Sunstreaker struggling to wake up, as Swiftstrike _was_ waking up. His head turned to the side to see the single other Lamborghini on board the Ark.

"Red?"

The smaller Lamborghini flinched at the incredulous tones, before offering a hesitant smile. Sideswipe dragged himself out of his berth, and flopped onto Red Alerts, ignoring the yelp. Sunstreaker managed to get to his feet; pulling off a tube that had originally been connected to him, before making it the five steps to the berth Sideswipe and Red Alert were in.

"Out of all-" Sunstreaker paused as Red Alert looked down guiltily at his lap. "Red, you're Swiftstrike?"

"…Yes." Red Alert watched his triplets carefully, optics wide. The two looked at each other, before a wicked grin split Sideswipes face. It was tired, like all of his movements, but he grabbed Red Alert about the waist, and dragged him firmly into the berth, before he snuggled up close.

"Always wanted to tackle a commanding officer without being sent to the brig." Sideswipe murmured. Sunstreaker still stared, off balance by the fact that their little triplet had managed to get this far up, not to mention made it into being a commanding officer. Now that he looked back, he had to admit that Red Alert had some of the same characteristics-

His CPU was too tired to deal with this. With a low groan he flopped down into the berth, on top of his triplets. Beneath he could feel Red Alert stiffen, before he grumbled, "Share him Sides."

"Mine."

"Sides-" Sunstreaker murmured warningly, "Don't make me shove you out of the berth."

"Oh, fine." Sideswipe inched towards the side, allowing Sunstreaker to get a little more comfortable on the berth. "But I do this strictly because I don't want to start a fight."

"You probably couldn't even fight right now." Sunstreaker grumbled, even as he slid next to Swiftstrike. The three enjoyed a quiet moment, before Red Alert broke the silence with a question that had been on his CPU for vorns.

"Sides, Sunny, why'd you block me out?"

Two, identical winces, and **sorry/love/sorry/please forgive**

Words were needed for this question, and Sideswipe was the first to answer. "When- when those 'cons shot you in the back, we felt the pain. And we also felt the blankness at the ned. We- we thought you were dead. We spent the next twenty orns trying to access the bond, to get to you. We couldn't get anything."

Sunstreaker picked up the tale, "So, I closed the bond."

_Sunstreaker glowered at Sideswipe, oblivious to the tears running down his face. The empty blankness of where Swiftstrike should've been echoed deeply within his spark, making it mourn for the missing presence. "We have to close it off Sides!"_

"_No, we don't! Sunny, please, let's keep it open just a little longer-"_

"_If he was still alive, he would've contacted us by now! It's too late Sides! It's too late."_

Sunstreaker shivered at the memory. He should've listened to Sideswipe. It was too late now of course, but he still should've listenened to Sideswipe- "Why didn't you tell us Strike? Why didn't you tell us that you were still alive?"

"Because… you had closed off the bond. I thought I had done something wrong." A soft sob shook the smaller mech. "I thought I was too weak, and you two didn't want me keeping you back-"

Horrification lashed across the bond before either twin could stop it, and Sideswipe awkwardly cuddled up further to the crying Red Alert. "We wouldn't ever, ever do that Red. Haven't you ever heard us say we didn't want you?"

"But- whenever you came to save me, there was always-" Words failed to convey what he had thought and felt.

"The contempt was for the idiots who would dare pick on you. You're our triplet, why would we hate you? You're us." Sideswipe whispered the words soothingly, even as he sent **love/warmth/happiness **to his triplet.

Red Alert tried for a smile, but already he could feel systems shutting down internally. Judging from the muted sounds from the twins, they also were having the same problem. Sunstreaker grumbled, "We'll talk about this later."

"Of course Sunny."

Sunstreaker said nothing as he very firmly thrust all thought from his CPU to snuggle up to his triplets. At last, at last, they were together again. His optics dimmed as he listened to the spark pulse next to his auditory receptors, the softly revving engines lulling the three of them to sleep.

The white painted medic strode into the medbay, ready to check on his charges. Instead he found three Lamborghini's, all curled up together on the same berth. All three faces were the most contented he had ever seen, and his auditory receptors couldn't distinguish one engine from the other as they purred softly.

Wheeljack peeked across Ratchets shoulder, before saying softly, "Awww, look at them, don't they look cute Ratchet? Wait here, I'm going to go get a camera."

"Wait, Jack!" Too late, the engineer had already scampered down the hallway. Ratchet turned back to the three sleeping figures, hands on hips. "Well, what am I supposed to do now?"

--

There was a picture on the wall. It's glass frame was mudged slightly, and a bit of tape showed where it had once been wrapped. It contrasted sharply from the other pictures of the three mechs, one red, one yellow, one orange. It was newer then the others, and a little different. It was of three Lamborghini's, one red, one yellow, one red and white, snuggled together, a contented smile on their faces.

* * *

a/n: There. End. No more. Third chapter written for those whom asked, and I can only say that I desperately hoped you all enjoyed it.


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